By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
The death of a woman more than a half-century after she was assaulted as an infant has been ruled a homicide.
The Sacramento Police Department was notified Jan. 18 of this year that the death of 57-year-old Sandra Smith was the result of injuries sustained in1954 and thus a homicide.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office advised police that on Jan. 30, 2010, Smith died from blunt force injuries to her head that she suffered in April of 1954. The injuries had left her disabled and under long-time care since then.
Police said detectives had difficulty finding out what happened during the initial assault, suspect information and where the suspect currently was.
Their search was made more difficult because at the time Smith was injured, she lived in North Sacramento, which had its own police department so records were not available.
In checking old newspaper articles, detectives found a story in the Sacramento Union dated April 19, 1954. The article indicated that Sandra Smith, then 6 months old, had been taken to the hospital with injuries inflicted by her father, Andrew Dean Smith.
According to the story, Andrew Smith had beaten the child for crying, hitting his daughter until she was unconscious.
Police said the father apparently was arrested for the assault and convicted, serving six months for the crime. Detectives determined that Andrew Dean Smith died in 1980.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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